The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media outlets. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game day operations, and strives for better working conditions for sports writers in

press boxes, and deals with access issues to college athletes and coaches. The FWAA also sponsors scholarships for aspiring writers and an annual writing contest. The FWAA is one of the organizations whose

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term ''All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Football ...

is recognized by the NCAA. The organization also selects the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner, the Outland Trophy winner, a freshman All-America team, and weekly defensive player of the week, as well as developing

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

programs and surveys for better working conditions. From 1954 to 2013, the association awarded the

Grantland Rice Trophy The Grantland Rice Trophy was an annual award presented in the United States from 1954 to 2013 to the college football team recognized by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) as the National Champions. Named for the legendary sport ...

to the college football team they chose to be the National Champion.

All-America Committees

The Football Writers Association of America All-America Committee selects the 25-man All-America Team and the winners of the Bronko Nagurski and Outland trophies. In the spring, the committee selects the FWAA All-America Watch List and the watch lists for both of the FWAA's major player awards. The FWAA has chosen an All-America Team annually since the 1944 season; it is the second longest continuously-published team in major college football.

2009 Committee

*John Davis, ''Oxford (Miss.) Eagle'' *Heather Dinich,

espn.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including: ...

*Pete DiPrimio, '' Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel'' *Dennis Dodd,

CBSSports.com CBSSports.com (formerly CBS SportsLine.com and SportsLine USA) is an American sports news website operated by Paramount Streaming, itself a division of Paramount Global. It is the website for CBS's CBS Sports division that features news, high ...

*Ryan Finley, '' Arizona Daily Star'' *Pete Fiutak, '' College Football News'' *Kevin Gorman, '' Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'' *Anthony Hanshew, ''The Herald-Dispatch'' (Huntington, W. Va.) *Dave Matter, '' Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune'' *Mick McGrane, '' The San Diego Union-Tribune'' *Rodney McKissic, '' The Buffalo News'' *Adam Sparks, ''Daily News Journal'' (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) *Phil Steele, Phil Steele Publications *Jimmy Watson, '' Shreveport Times''

2008 Committee

*Bob Asmussen, '' Champaign News-Gazette'' *Frank Coyle, draftinsiders.com *Chadd Cripe, '' Idaho Statesman'' *Dennis Dodd,

*Joseph Duarte, ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' *Antonya English, '' St. Petersburg Times'' *Maureen Fulton, '' Toledo Blade'' *Bob Holt, ''

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties. By virtue of one of ...

'' *Tom Kensler, ''

Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 1 ...

'' *Lenn Robbins, ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' *George Schroeder, '' Eugene Register-Guard'' * Phil Steele, Phil Steele Publications *Paul Strelow, ''

The State A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...

'' *Phil Stukenborg, '' The Commercial Appeal''

2007 Committee

*Mark Blaudschun, ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Gl ...

'' *Chip Brown, '' The Dallas Morning News'' *Bob Clark, '' Eugene Register-Guard'' *Buddy Davis, '' Ruston Daily Leader'' *Dennis Dodd,

*Bob Holt, ''

'' *Steve Irvine, ''

Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' is the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The paper is owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its tw ...

'' *Michael Lewis, '' Salt Lake Tribune'' *Matt Markey, '' Toledo Blade'' *Brett McMurphy, ''

Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing '' Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''S ...

2006 Committee

*Eric Bailey, '' Tulsa World'' *Chad Cripe, '' Idaho Statesman'' *Scott Ferrell, '' Shreveport Times'' *Robert Gagliardi, ''

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle The ''Wyoming Tribune Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Cheyenne and distributed primarily in Laramie County, Wyoming. It is the state's second largest newspaper in terms of circulation, behind the ''Casper Star Tribune''. The ''Tribune ...

'' *Eric Hansen, '' South Bend Tribune'' *Andrew Logue, ''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the juncti ...

'' *Tom Luicci, ''

Newark Star-Ledger Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-th ...

'' *Jeff Metcalfe, '' Arizona Republic'' *George Schroeder, '' Daily Oklahoman'' *Norm Wood, '' Daily Press''

Bert McGrane Award winners

Presented to a member of the FWAA for "outstanding contribution to the organization". 1974 Charley Johnson, '' Minneapolis Star''
1975 Wilfrid Smith, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''
1976 Paul Zimmerman, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

''
1977 Dick Cullum, ''

Minneapolis Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consoli ...

''
1978 Wilbur Evans, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association
1979 Tom Siler, '' Knoxville News-Sentinel''
1980 Maury White, ''

''
1981

Fred Russell Fred Russell (August 27, 1906 – January 26, 2003) was an American sportswriter from Tennessee who served as sports editor for the ''Nashville Banner'' for 68 years (1930–1998). Beginning in the 1960s he served for nearly three decades as ...

, '' Nashville Banner''
1982 Furman Bisher, '' Atlanta Journal''
1983 John Mooney, '' Salt Lake Tribune''
1984 Si Burick, ''Dayton News''
1985 Blackie Sherrod, '' The Dallas Morning News''
1986 Raymond Johnson, ''

Nashville Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett ...

''
1987 Tim Cohane, ''Look'' Magazine
1988 Dave Campbell, ''Waco Tribune Herald''
1989 Jim Brock, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association
1990 Jack Hairston, ''

Gainesville Sun ''The Gainesville Sun'' () is a newspaper published daily in Gainesville, Florida, United States, covering the North-Central portion of the state. The paper is published by Lynni Henderson, the paper's Executive Editor is Douglas Ray and the ed ...

''
1991 Murray Olderman,

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

1992 Volney Meece, '' The Daily Oklahoman''
1993 Bob Hentzen, ''Topeka Capital Journal''
1994 Edgar Allen, ''Nashville Journal''
1995 Dick Herbert, '' Raleigh News & Observer''
1996 Bob Hammel, ''Bloomington Herald-Times''
1997 Bill Lumpkin, ''

Birmingham Post-Herald The ''Birmingham Post-Herald'' was a daily newspaper in Birmingham, Alabama, with roots dating back to 1850, before the founding of Birmingham. The final edition was published on September 23, 2005. In its last full year, its average daily circu ...

''
1998 Don Bryant,

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

1999 Field Scovell, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association
2000 Jimmie McDowell, All-American Football Foundation
2001 Edwin Pope, ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties. By virtue of one of ...

''
2003 Dan Foster, ''Greenville News''
2004 Pat Harmon, ''

Cincinnati Post ''The Cincinnati Post'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. In Northern Kentucky, it was bundled inside a local edition called ''The Kentucky Post''. The ''Post'' was a founding publication and oneti ...

''
2005 Steve Richardson, FWAA Executive Director
2006 John Junker, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
2007 Mark Blaudschun, ''

''
2008 Claude Felton, University of Georgia
2009 Tony Barnhart, ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution''
2010 Tom Mickle, ''Florida Citrus Sports''
2011

Beano Cook Carroll Hoff "Beano" Cook (September 1, 1931 – October 11, 2012) was an American television personality who worked for ESPN. He was a college football historian and commentator. He received his B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1954. ...

, ESPN/ University of Pittsburgh
2012 Dave Sittler, Tulsa World
2013 Dick Weiss, '' New York Daily News''
2014 Tim Tessalone, University of Southern California
2015 Steve Hatchell, National Football Foundation
2016 Ivan Maisel, ''

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

.com''
2017 Charlie Fiss, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association
2018 Steve Wieberg, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' (1982–2012)
2019 Blair Kerkhoff, '' The Kansas City Star''

All-Time Teams

Selected by the Football Writers Association of America for the centennial year of college football in 1969. An Early Era team was chosen that featured Jim Thorpe, a modern team (1919–68) and a Quarter-Century team that was chosen in 1993, 25 years after the college football centennial celebration.

1969–1994 All-America Team

Offense
C –

Dave Rimington David Brian Rimington (born May 22, 1960) is a former American college and professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. Rimington played college football for the Universi ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

G – John Hannah,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

G –

Dean Steinkuhler Dean Elmer Steinkuhler (born January 27, 1961) is a former professional American football guard in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons in the 1980s and 1990s. Steinkuhler played college football for the University of Nebraska, ...

, Nebraska
T – Bill Fralic,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

T –

Jerry Sisemore Jerald Grant Sisemore (born July 16, 1951) is a former American football offensive lineman who played for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1973 to 1984. He played college football for the Universit ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

TE – Keith Jackson, Oklahoma
WR – Anthony Carter,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

WR –

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three champion ...

, Mississippi Valley
QB –

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Elway played college fo ...

, Stanford
RB – Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh
RB – Herschel Walker,

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

K – Tony Franklin, Texas A&M University
KR – Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska
Defense
DE –

Lee Roy Selmon Lee Roy Selmon (October 20, 1954 – September 4, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a defensive tackle a ...

, Oklahoma
DE – Jack Youngblood,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

DT – Steve Emtman, Washington
DT – Randy White, Maryland
LB – Hugh Green, Pittsburgh
LB – Lawrence Taylor, North Carolina
MLB – Mike Singletary, Baylor
DB – Deion Sanders, Florida State
DB – Ronnie Lott, Southern California
DB – Jack Tatum, Ohio State
DB – Kenny Easley, UCLA
P –

Ray Guy William Ray Guy (December 22, 1949 – November 3, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a punter for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Guy was a first-team All-American selection ...

– Southern Mississippi

1919–1968 Modern Era All-America Team

E – Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan
E – Don Hutson, Alabama
L – Bronko Nagurski, Minnesota
L – Bruiser Kinard, Mississippi
L – Jim Parker, Ohio State
L –

Bob Suffridge Robert Lee Suffridge (March 17, 1916 – March 3, 1974) was an American football player in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Tennessee, where he was later inducted into th ...

, Tennessee
C – Mel Hein, Washington State
B – Sammy Baugh, Texas Christian
B – Jay Berwanger, Chicago
B –

Ernie Nevers Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1902 – May 3, 1976), sometimes known by the nickname "Big Dog", was an American football and baseball player and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the best football players in the first half of the 20th ...

, Stanford
B – Red Grange, Illinois

1869–1918 Early Era All-America Team

E – Frank Hinkey, Yale
E – Huntington Hardwick, Harvard
T – Josh Cody, Vanderbilt
T – Wilbur Henry, Washington and Jefferson
G – Pudge Heffelfinger, Yale
G –

Truxtun Hare Thomas Truxtun Hare (October 12, 1878 – February 2, 1956) was an American Olympic medalist who competed in track and field and the hammer throw. He also played football with the University of Pennsylvania and was selected first-team All- ...

, Pennsylvania
C – Germany Schulz, Michigan
B –

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

, Carlisle
B – Elmer Oliphant, Purdue
B –

Willie Heston William Martin Heston (September 9, 1878 – September 9, 1963) was an American football player and coach. He played halfback at San Jose State University and the University of Michigan. Heston was the head football coach for Drake Universi ...

, Michigan
B – Walter Eckersall, Chicago

Awards sponsored

:''See footnote''Football Writers Annual Awards
Football Writers Association of America official website. Retrieved 2011-09-18. Currently the FWAA sponsors seven awards and those are affiliated with the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). *All-America and Freshman All-America Teams * Bronko Nagurski Trophy * Outland Trophy *

* Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year *FedEx Orange Bowl Courage Award * Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week

Poll

Beginning in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, 26 members of the FWAA will vote in a new poll in partnership with the National Football Foundation. It is called the

FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll The FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16 poll is a weekly ranking of the top 16 college football teams in the NCAA Division I (NCAA)#Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision beginning with the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season, 2014 s ...

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control College football mass media American sports journalism organizations Journalism-related professional associations Sports organizations established in 1941